Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $4.55-4.70 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.62. Abbott Laboratories also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.550-4.700 EPS.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $105.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $121.31.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,444,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,219,868,000 after purchasing an additional 679,359 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886,954 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,893,715,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,299,250 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,573,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,411 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.